Not All That Bad
by XanAxe14
Summary: AU: Dean Ambrose caught Maya Gilbert stealing his friend Seth Rollins' wallet at Rollins' Rockers. Now Maya has to pay back Seth but Dean isn't letting her out of his sight and he's getting a thrill out of making her miserable. But when Rollins' Rockers starts losing money and they start to see who might be involved, Maya offers to go spy for Seth and Dean's not happy. Rewrite
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

The woman across from Maya Gilbert looked down her eagle beak-shaped nose at her.

"I'm sorry," the woman picked up the stack of papers and turned away. "You're not going to get a job right now."

Maya frowned. "Why? I mean why not?"

"You have to look better. Clean clothes, clean body," she left off the other obvious problem Maya was having.

"But I need a job to do all that. I don't have any way to do that." Maya closed her thin jacket around her even thinner shoulders.

"I'm sorry." The woman stood up. "I really am but you need to clean yourself up before coming back to this temp agency. Get some better clothes."

Maya stood up. "Please, I'll do anything."

"I'm sorry, miss. This agency only allows for at-risk employment. You're beyond that, I'm afraid." The woman with the nice blond hair, blue eyes, and nice clothes didn't even look at her twice.

Maya bit her lip but fought back tears. There were other people waiting for their turn with the temp agency worker. Ducking her head, Maya left the agency and went outside into the Las Vegas sidewalk.

Outside, where cars blitzed by and people staggered with bottles in hand, some missing articles of clothing and it was a Monday evening. Las Vegas, Nevada was a party city, and the street in front of the temp agency was just blocks away from the main Strip. As the sun was going down a breeze sent shivers up Maya's back. She closed her jacket again, as she walked down the street. The further away from the Strip the worse the streets got and some of the poor souls like her were caught up in those very streets she walked.

In an old ice manufacturing building was the women's shelter Maya had managed to get into. She had a cot in the back and to get that cot she had to take the garbage out. So when she got back from her failed attempt at the temp agency, Maya had to pull the large black bags from the equally large garbage cans. Maya grunted on the last one, the top of the can barely coming up to the center of her chest, but she managed to pull it and take it out back to the large blue dumpster. After the last bag was thrown into the dumpster, Maya came back in only to find a mess.

The woman had a small child crying at the shelter's head employer, aptly named Madam Miser.

"Please, I'm not safe. The man that did this…" the woman pointed to her face, which was turned away from Maya. "He's still out there. I have nowhere to go."

"Look, there's no room here. You're just going to have to go somewhere else." Madam Miser said.

Maya had taken the garbage duty for a cot and didn't want to deal with any more of Madam Miser's round-faced grumpiness. Yet the more the baby cried, and the woman obviously at her wit's end, Maya started to turn away but she didn't.

"Unless a cot is given up, you're not getting in." Madam Hitler said with arms crossed and legs spread wide. She was already bigger than the other women who managed to eke out a living within the shelter.

Maya sighed as she walked up to the two women. "She can have my cot. I'll go get my stuff." Maya said.

"Really?" Both mother and Madam Miser chorused together.

Maya's attention went to the little child in the woman's arms. Big blob tears ran down the cherub face of something she'd been denied. "Children should not be out on the streets. So I'll get my stuff and head out."

The mother followed Maya. "I can't express how thankful I am."

Maya went to her cubby and pulled out her backpack. "Dinner will be served at eight. You'll have to," she stopped when seeing the woman's face.

The woman had a split lip, a black eye and was in need of a brush. Regardless of the state of her own body, that little kid wasn't going to sleep out on the street. It wouldn't have been the first bruised face Maya had ever seen come through the waves of women.

"And to keep the cot you have a job. You'll have to take out the garbage every day. There is a dumpster out back, I'm sure one of the other women will help you out." Maya shrugged on her backpack. "You know, to help with your baby."

"Whatever it takes, I just need to get a hold of my mom." The woman said, hugging the now quiet baby to her chest.

With one last smile, albeit a little on the sad side, Maya moved to the front of the building. She'd only managed to get in for one night, but it was one night and a meal that would tide her over until she could get something better.

"Hey, lady." Madam Miser called as Maya opened the door. "Here. Summer nights are cold. You'll need it."

The jacket she wore had more holes than her sneakers. And this coat was better looking than the one wrapped around her. It also looked a little more professional, it could double as a blanket.

"Thanks." She took the offered clothing.

One last look in the shelter, Maya left. She turned left and headed towards The Strip once again.

* * *

He finally took the ring off. Dean Ambrose's wedding band was placed eye level in his locker, his blue eyes reflecting back at him in his shaving mirror. How long had it been? A year, maybe a year and a half since his downward spiral?

"You ready, Uce?" His friend and near brother Roman Reigns asked.

The Samoan Powerhouse, another bouncer, smiled at him.

"For more drunk assholes? Yeah, sure."

The owner of Rollins' Rockers walked in. Seth greeted some of the other male staff in the locker room before making his way over to Dean and Roman at the farthest end. The brown-haired man was dressed to impress, compared to Dean's usual blue jeans, white tank and cycle boots topped off with a black leather jacket. Rollins' Rockers wasn't upscale for being in the basement of Seth's equally famous Rockers Casino, but people loved it. At least he didn't have to wear a shirt and tie suit.

"Hey, I just got word that Bayley is on the mend and will be coming back soon," Seth said.

"That's great. We'll have a full security team again." Roman said.

Dean propped his foot up on the folding chair to adjust his boot lace. Neither man seemed to notice Dean's lack of speech. Roman continued to talk with Seth about the businesses.

"The rest of Shield will be up so if you want to jump over there go right ahead," Seth said.

"Yeah, I'll think about it. What about Rollins' Rockers? Don't you need security for the club?"

A club, as in Gentlemen's club, as in an expensive titty bar Dean had thrown a punch at the man who had grabbed Renee when they first came to Las Vegas. Now he was a bouncer for the same titty bar he'd been thrown out because that was how nice of a guy Seth was.

"Renee wouldn't want Dean to work here anyway," Roman said.

"Dude, don't bring up his hurt." Seth shoved the Samoan.

Stomping his foot down, Dean looked between his friends. Between the two long-haired brunettes, Roman knew when to be an ass.

"Yeah, Renee wouldn't. But she's not here so I can do whatever the hell I want." He reached back into his locker.

Dean pulled his ring out again. As he put it on, he slammed the locker shut. Roman and Seth stepped aside to let him by.

Zak Ryder, another bouncer, was walking in. "Alright, tonight is going to be good."

"Keep telling yourself that," Dean said before walking out of the room.

The locker room was across from the female workers' lounge slash locker room. The serving girls and performers were getting ready, one too many flashes of exposed skin resulted in Dean pulling that door shut as he moved along.

Down the black and red hallway, there was a black door like all other doors. Someone was sitting at the desk in this room going through a large book and tapping on a laptop at the same time. Dean raised his hand to slam the door open but the bespectacled man glanced up.

"If you're thinking of slamming that door open, Dean, don't."

"Don't know what you're talking about, Neville." He leaned on the door jam.

The Neville Satterly huffed, his eyes going back to the laptop. "Did you need anything, Dean?"

"Nah, not really."

Dean looked at Neville's left hand. Only a pale streak of skin was on his ring finger, his own ring missing for some time now. Neville hadn't spoken much about his former wife, but it mirrored Dean's own marriage. They both ended the same way.

"How are the numbers?" Dean asked.

"Not as good as they had been. I'm looking for the issue now." Neville responded.

Dean nodded. "I'll let you get back to it. I'm going to check on the line."

Neville raised his hand but went back to work. Whatever the numbers were telling him, Neville would tell Seth about it when he found the issue.

Dean left the main office, he approached the small kitchen across the hall from the door to the bar. The kitchen was getting ready for the rush, but the bigger draw wasn't the food but the chicks and the booze that was served. Dean swung the bar door open.

"Do you have to do that?"

Cesaro and he were face-to-face. The man that was from Switzerland had two cocktail bottles held out in his hands to his sides. "Use the other door, Dean."

"Not interested. Scuse me."

Dean walked around the bar, out onto the main floor of the club. The VIP booths face the stage were being prepped, the other tables were being set up and no one looked at him. Up the steps and into the Club's foyer, Dean looked around. Designed the same as the rest of the Club, red and black with a touch of metallic silver, it almost resembled his penthouse.

Outside, The Strip was fairly packed. Monday evenings on an early summer was not all that packed. Though college kids made up a majority of those visiting Rockers Casino, Seth's first major accomplishment in Las Vegas.

Shield Security was built out of Rockers Casino and Rollins' Rockers, but it wasn't ready for commercial use elsewhere. A lot of the security went through Shield for training. Dean, Roman and Seth figured it up between drinks as Seth tried building his own Vegas Empire."

"Dean?"

He glanced at the nicely dressed older woman who could have passed as his mother. Only his mother was six feet under and wasn't as well off as this woman appeared to be.

"Ms. Rollins, here to see your boy?" Dean shoved his hands in his pockets.

Diane Rollins, Seth's mother, looked him over. "Just passing through."

"Is something wrong?"

"Just some rumblings but nothing substantial." She shrugged.

"Did you want me to escort you in? I'd do that for you." Dean said.

"No, I'll talk to Seth later. Are you good, sweetie?"

Dean shrugged.

"Then I'll see you around." She started to leave but turned around again. "Dean, it's not the end of the world, you know. You'll find your other half again."

Dean's answer was to turn around and walk back into the club.

* * *

** I decided that I would restart this story over and do it how I wanted. The last one went off the tracks for me but now as I made it a little better, I hope you like it, too. And no more requests in reviews, I hate that.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Maya walked for hours. Night came out by the fact people walked around with long plastic glasses, laughter flowing from loose mouths. The coat Madam Miser had given her concealed what Maya was hiding.

She clutched her stomach as she stopped and leaned against a wall. One group of people with take-out containers from a casino buffet approached. Maya watched them as they neared a trash can and then passed it without throwing the food away. Maya's eyes burned but tears didn't run. If she cried it would hurt worse.

The stairs to one of the casinos opened up and a woman in her fifties or sixties walked towards her. Her peppery brown hair bounced and her nice pantsuit was gorgeous compared to what Maya was wearing. She definitely wasn't a walking skeleton. The woman hailed a cab, got in and was taken away in a matter of minutes. Maya wished she could follow but knew that would never happen.

"Hey man, what about this place?" She heard a man nearby say.

"That's an upscale titty bar." The second man said. "They charge to get in, man."

"Well, that's what's Daddy's money is for." The first guy said, which was followed by a laugh.

The two of them didn't walk up the stairs to the Rockers Casino. They walked to the side where a set of stairs led down into a sunken side alleyway. One of the men almost fell down the stairs but the other caught him before he fell on his face.

Pushing away from the wall, Maya followed them. She hugged her new jacket closer around her as she glanced over her shoulder. No one followed her. Maya stopped at the door and dropped her backpack, pushing it behind the waist-high trash can next to a potted bush plant thing. There was no security outside but inside a tall man with a beard resided behind a sort of podium.

"Come on, Man." One of the drunks said. "We're paying good money to get in."

The security guard was too focused on the two drunks guys she had followed in. So Maya moved to the doorway that went down into the main part of the club. She headed down a set of small lit stairs, following the steady thump of the music.

The call for food brought her into an almost heavy rock strip club. Her mouth fell open as the bright redhead woman on stage took off something that looked like a top and the men in the place went nuts.

The place was full of men watching women undress. As unappealing as it was, and mild shock aside, Maya knew why she was there. If there were other rich daddy's boys in the place and they were drunk then they wouldn't miss some money. Not like they would notice anyway.

The only women in there were the performers on stage and the women carrying around large trays of drinks. She'd have to steer clear of them. Then there were the leather jacket men standing around looking like Terminators, two were near the stage and one was milling about in the center of the main floor. This only meant that Maya needed an easy mark, someone who wouldn't realize his wallet was gone.

Maya's gaze drew her to the long bar at the other end of the club. There was a man sitting at the bar, wearing black clothing, maybe a suit, with black hair pulled back into a bun at the name of his neck. He had a wallet that was begging to be plucked. Her empty stomach begged for food, which was all the more reason to choose him. He was big, he didn't seem to be having any food shortage as he laughed and talked to the bald bartender.

Maya hugged the wall of pillars that made up an area closer to the front of the club, The man at the bar hadn't moved, he was in deep conversation with the bartender. If she kept looking around then someone may have noticed her; she instead waded through the crowd of people. Maya almost ran into a woman with blonde and pink-tipped hair who was serving a standing table of six men but she dodged the server at the last minute.

The man with the wallet leaned forward and the wallet leaned out of his back pocket. Maya licked her lip as she got to the bar and walked towards the tempting wallet.

"Good one, Cesaro!" The man cackled.

With her thumb and index fingers, Maya plucked the wallet and pulled her hand up into her sleeve. She knew she couldn't walk fast because she didn't need to draw attention to her. The pillars towards the front side of the club became her new destination. It meant ditching the wallet after taking some cash would be a problem. She had to bypass several more serving women to get there but she was sure no one noticed her.

The wallet weight heavy in her hand as she leaned against one of the pillars. She ignored the multitude of created cards, rather, going directly to the inner cash section. There was a lot of green bills in there, five of which were hundred dollar bills.

Five hundred could get her a bed at that hotel for ex-cons and drug addicts, even food and…

She took three of the bills but stopped. Maya grabbed a single hundred knowing that the man wouldn't miss it. Maya dropped the wallet and pushed it next to the pillar with her foot to keep it out of the way. At least some cash was better than none and leaving with a hundred dollars was good enough.

Maya made her way back to the entrance of the club. While the music changed from a sultry rock to an interlude song the women on stage seemed to be waiting for something. Maya turned her gaze from the partially dressed women as she made it to the entrance stairs.

A large hand grasped Maya's entire upper arm and hot breath hit her ear

"And where do you think you're going, you little thief?" The voice asked.

* * *

Dean saw the little woman straight off. She showed up on her own, no man on her arm or vise versa. He had been standing next to the stage, trying to ignore Eva Marie's breasts when he saw the little woman. She was dwarfed by the black coat she wore, another red flag for any security guard to notice, which apparently Zak Ryder didn't.

Dean left his VIP lookout spot as she neared the people at the bar. She walked behind them, even passing Seth as he chatted with Cesaro. Seth's overstuffed wallet went missing after the woman by. He growled and went after her.

Pushing his way through the throngs of loud men milling about on the main floor, Dean lost sight of the brown-haired woman. He turned one way to see if she hoofed it back to the entrance. As he turned to look he saw the black coat over by the pillars before it moved towards the entryway stairs. That little mouse was quick and Dean had to be quicker just to catch up to her.

Grabbing her arm, he leaned down to her ear. "And where do you think you're going, you little thief?"

Even though she wore that coat, Dean's fingers completely closed around her upper arm. The face that gaped at him was too angular, sunken cheeks and chapped lips. She was too white, vampire-like in some way. Ignoring her big wide eyes, Dean looked at her right clenched hand.

"Please," she whimpered, which he barely made out.

He pulled a single hundred dollar bill from her hand. "Where's the rest of it? Where's the damn wallet you stole?" He shook her for good measure.

"Back there, at the pillar." She pointed over her shoulder as her eyes began to shine.

"Show me. And don't think about running away, you little mouse."

Wrenching her around, Dean made the woman walk back to the pillar. She pointed to one of the potted plants and sure enough, on the floor was Seth's leather-bound wallet. Dean picked it up, checked to see if all the cards were there- they surprisingly were- and dragged the mousy brown-haired woman towards the black door next to the bar.

"Hey, Rollins, need you in the office!" Dean yelled during a lull in the music.

Seth looked up, Cesaro turned as well. Some of the patrons watched as Dean shove open the black door and pulled the woman in after him. The door slammed shut behind her.

He took her down the hall that went to the office he'd been to earlier. Dean slammed the office door open, Neville jumped as a result.

"Bleeding hell, Dean!" The Englishman adjusted his glasses.

"Sorry, Nevs, but I caught this woman stealing Seth's wallet." He shoved the chick into the chair in front of the desk. "Wait right here, you little mouse."

Neville and he made eye contact briefly before Dean left. Seth walked up just as Dean closed the door behind him.

"What's going on, man?"

Dean held up Seth's wallet. "Missing something?"

His friend patted his back pockets. "What the fuck?"

"Some chick picked your wallet. The thing is she only took a hundred bill, no other cash or cards were taken"

"Why?"

Dean shrugged. "My guess is she's starving. My fingers could touch around her arm when I grabbed her."

"Anorexic?"

"From the smell, I would say homeless."

Seth looked at his wallet. He was thinking about how to help the woman, she wouldn't have been the first Seth tried helping. If he was anything like Diane, he was thinking a few steps ahead.

"Come on, I want to talk to her," Seth said.

Dean slammed the door open.

"Do you have to do that?" Neville asked but caught sight of Seth. "Ah, I see. Do you want me to call the police, Seth?"

"Could you hold off on that, Nevs? I want to talk to our guest first." Seth said as he looked down at the woman.

There was no mistaking the shaking in the woman's shoulders. Dean smiled as he circled around to stand behind her as Seth stood directly in front of her.

"I'm Seth Rollins, owner of Rockers and Rollins' Rockers. Who are you?"

"Maya Gilbert." She said in a quiet and shaky voice.

"And why would you steal this?" Seth waved the hundred in her face.

"I, I was hungry." She looked down.

"Hungry, huh?" Dean asked as he leaned over her shoulder. "What made you think you could steal from my best friend?"

"Drunks are easy to pick." SHe said.

Dean wrapped his hand under her chin to make her look up at Seth. "Hate to break it to you but Seth doesn't drink on the job, my little mouse."

"You're scaring the girl, Dean," Neville said.

"I know." He smiled at the Englishman.

"So now we have to figure out what to do with you, Ms. Gilbert," Seth said.

"We should call the police." Neville closed his ledger book. "A thief should never be trusted."

"What do you think, Dean?" Seth asked.

Dean rubbed her bony cheek with his thumb. "I could think of something useful."

"Oh brother," mumbled Neville.

"We'd have to fatten her up first. She is pretty; pretty skinny." Dean said.

"Yeah but I don't trust a pretty girl not to come back, especially a pretty little thief," Seth said as he rubbed his bearded chin.

"I'm not babysitting," Neville said. "I'd rather be alone. I'm better with my numbers." Neville picked up his jacket as he stood but looked at Dean and Seth.

"Unfortunately my place is being renovated and Roman has been nice to put me up until it's done." Seth flicked his gaze over to Dean. "Think you can behave, Dean?"

"Do I get an early night?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Fine by me. I don't have a problem with that."

"We'll just worry about her later. I'll let Roman know what's going on and we'll be up at your place sometime tomorrow morning." Seth said.

"Great for you," Neville said. "Might I suggest letting her take a shower. She's rather pungent right now."

"Up you go, Maya Mouse." Dean grabbed her arm and pulled her from the chair. "We're leaving."

She whined or squeaked. Yes, squeaked. She really was a mouse, at least Dean thought so.

They left the office and head towards the women's lounge where some of the performers were prepping for the second main act of the night.

"Hello ladies," Dean said walking in.

None of them freaked out that he was there at all. There was a chorus of greeting from the women and even some waves.

"Dean, did you come to see me?" Eva Marie asked as she turned with her breasts on full display.

Dean only smiled when the red in Eva Marie's hair went to her face and that smile she wore faded fast. No doubt because of Maya with him.

"Nope. Just passing through. Hey, Bliss, do you have some extra clothes that Maya Gilbert here can have?" He tugged her front and center for all of them to see.

The blond with the pink-tipped highlights stood up from her vanity. Her hair was long and straight and she had bright pink lips that offset her moderate chest and black leather top and shorts. She had been one of the barmaids Maya hadn't really paid attention, the only reason she did was how much smaller she was than the other women.

"Actually I do. I put on the weight since working here. Some of my old clothes need to be gotten rid of." She snapped her fingers and headed over to a bay of lockers towards the back of the room.

"So, is she another performer?" A woman with vibrant red hair asked, looking her over. "Another anorexic that Seth wants to save?"

"I heard that Eva Marie!" Alexa yelled from the back. Alexa smiled when she came back with a pile of clothes in her arms. "Here you go. It's nice to meet you. I'm Alexa Bliss, by the way."

Maya didn't know what to do, much less say. She nodded as she hugged the clothes to her chest. The room full of women started to trickle out a back door, where there was a man standing, probably Ryder or Roman doing their job. Eva Marie stayed behind, her eyes looking Maya over.

"Got a problem, Eva?" Dean asked.

She shook her head. "Nah, baby."

Dean's face soured. "Don't call me that."

"Come on, we both know you can handle a redhead. You prefer blondes, we all know that." She stuck her more than gracious chest out for full view even behind the tiny straps of cloth called a top.

Maya found herself looking at her feet. She heard the woman laugh before she went to change, pretty much out in the open.

"Come on, mouse." Dean grabbed her arm, though he didn't grab her as tight as his voice was. "Go change in that bathroom." He motioned to a side door in the changing room.

Not wanting to see Eva change, she went into the bathroom.

It gave Maya a chance to look at herself. Her hunger, her inability to survive on the streets had led her to looking emaciated and skeletal. Her face was too angular, her collar bone was protruding. Pale, yes, but still filthy even with all the prep she did before sneaking into the bar. Her ribs showed as she put the nicer shirt on. Maya refused to acknowledge the bruise that was on her lower stomach. In the meantime, Maya did a quick rinse of her hair in the sink, using some hand soap so that her hair could at least look presentable.

She left the bathroom a few moments later only to squeak out a gasp as she ran into Dean on the other side of the door.

"Come on, Maya Mouse." He pulled on her elbow to get her to move again.

The room had emptied out, Maya realized as they headed towards the back of the room.

The back entrance through the women's lounge led out to the alley between Rockers Casino and the buffet next door. They headed towards the street, which bypassed the club's entrance.

"Wait, please. My backpack." She said as she put on the brakes.

He turned to her. "Where?"

She pointed to a trash can that was mostly hidden behind a potted plant. There was a backpack hiding there and Dean grabbed it.

Maya reached for it but Dean pulled it up and out of her reach.

"Uh-huh, no way, Maya Mouse. I'm going to check it just in case you have a nasty surprise for me. I'll check it when we get home." He grabbed her arm again then pulled her along.

* * *

** Yep, there you go. Be back soon. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

After the man, Dean picked up her backpack he took her around to the front of Rockers casino. All lights blinked, flickering to attract attention to anyone who was willing to press their luck. Maya hadn't really bothered to press her luck before, she was already in an unlucky situation as she was being dragged around by the arm. She'd pressed her luck and got caught.

"Mr. Ambrose," the front clerk greeted. The man was older, wearing a tan suit with blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail.

"Hey, Shawn. Anything going on?" Dean asked.

"Not a damn thing." The man glanced Maya over. "Are you entertaining tonight? You haven't had one in a while."

"Nah, I'm babysitting this little mouse for Rollins."

"Oh, I see." The man smiled, and Maya frowned.

Much like the strip club, red and black seemed to be the color scheme throughout most of the place; alternative rock music was playing and the waitresses wore skimpy black leather outfits and carried large trays of drinks. The only difference between the strip club and the casino was that at least the casino women kept their clothes on.

Past the front desks were slot machines and card tables, loud men and louder machines mixed together. People seemed to be having fun, enjoying themselves and everything. Drinks were being served, nothing seemed out of place at all.

Dean stopped long enough to do something on his phone as they waited for the elevators. When the door to one slipped open Dean put his phone away and pulled Maya into the elevator with him.. He pushed floor number eight, which explained why Rockers wasn't as tall as MGM or any other casino hotels along the Strip. Dean stood on one side of the elevator while Maya pressed her back on the other side.

Maya stared at her backpack that still hung from Dean's left hand. The wedding band on his ring finger glinted in the overhead lighting. Not that she was interested in sleeping with this man. He loomed, slightly hunched and in the brighter light, he had light, almost cold blue eyes under shaggy sandy orange hair. His fingers on his right hand tapped against his thigh as the door slid open.

"After you," he said.

She stepped out and then Dean pulled her along the hall. Colored red and black, like the checkered carpet that muffled their footsteps. There weren't a lot of doors, only about four through the entire hallway. At the far end, with the numbers eight zero four on it, Dean unlocked the door.

"Welcome home, Maya Mouse." Dean eased the door open.

Much like everything else, red and black dominated the color scheme. There were two black leather couches sitting in an L shape in front of a large flat screen television. There wasn't much in a way of decorations, no pictures or wall art on the white walls. Maya could see a kitchen straight ahead and to the right of the living room. And then there was a darkened hallway that passed by the kitchen, which was where Dean headed towards.

"Come on, Mouse."

"Can you stick to one nickname?" She asked.

He made a sound but didn't say anything. He flipped on a light switch and light flooded out of the hall. Down the hall, on the left, was one door and a closet along the wall where the kitchen was positioned. The left door was the one that Dean opened and waited for her. The room had two doors, one double and on her right a black door.

"The shower is that way," he pointed to the black door. "Don't use the jacuzzi tub, I have plans for it later. There are towels, soaps and hair products in the shower you can use. I'll find you something to wear."

Then he walked up to the large bed with her backpack and she followed.

"What are you doing?" Maya asked.

"Making sure you're not packing anything that could hurt me."

Her life was dumped out onto the black covered bed. Her underwear, her wallet and the change purse that only contained two quarters. The small album fell out last, having been protected by her extra pair of pants and shirt. And then the knife.

"What's this?" He flicked the knife open. "Can't let you have this military-grade pocket knife. Did you steal this, too?"

She shook her head, eyes focusing on the album. "It's for protection."

"Or hold someone up at knifepoint?"

"No!" She couldn't stop her raised voice. "You obviously don't know what living on the streets is like. How could you understand what I go through?"

In a split second, his front was against hers and they were pressed up against each other. He was looking down at her as he had her pinned to the nightstand table behind her.

"Don't go assuming anything, Maya Mouse. And you shouldn't ever provoke me, either." His eyes bore right to the back of her skull.

She tried to jerk back but couldn't. "I'm sorry."

"Good girl." He smiled. "Let me go find you something to change into for after your shower. Better get that coat off."

Maya watched him go to the white double doors in the room. When his back was to her, she grabbed her album and shoved it under the bed with her foot. Dean came back as she started to take off her coat. He threw two articles of clothes at her, one of which looked like a pair of lightweight shorts.

"Go enjoy a shower." He nodded to the door behind her.

Through the black door was a nice big bathroom with a glass enclosed shower and a large jacuzzi tub. Bypassing the tub, like Dean had told her to, she stripped for a shower.

* * *

The shower started and Dean looked at the pile of stuff on his bed. The military grade switchblade was alarming but not unexpected- he carried one just like it back in Cincinnati, Ohio. Hunger was a good motive for theft, another familiar thing for Dean.

His doorbell rang as he picked up the pair of jeans. Dropping everything in his trash can, Dean went to the front door and paid the pizza delivery guy- giving him a twenty dollar tip for the effort. He locked the door afterward

It was nearing one o'clock in the morning, which meant that by two o'clock the club would be closing for the night. A check on his phone as he sat down showed that he had a text message.

**Roman:** _How's the girl_

**Dean:** _Taking a shower_

**Roman:** _Ryder screwed up. He was the doorman._

**Dean:** _Seth fire his ass?_

**Roman:** _No. Given a 2nd chance_

Dean rolled his eyes. Of course, Seth would give a guy like Zack Ryder a second chance after screwing something up. Seth of second chances could be his new title.

**Roman:** _You behaving?_

It took him a minute to respond, only because he caught a glimpse of his ring on his finger. Frowning, Dean turned back to his phone.

**Dean:** _Yes, asshole_

**Roman:** _Just making sure. Talk to you later._

Seth even asked how Maya was doing, which the conversation last no more than one text in return from Dean.

_FUCK! She's fine. I got food. She's in the shower. Shut up and leave me alone!_

Dean nearly chucked his phone at the wall when he heard the shower turn off.

Dean went into the kitchen to get a beer, the perfect thing for a large Hawaiian pizza with extra pineapples. He kept an ear open as he heard moving around in his room. Just as he turned from the fridge he found Maya standing in the doorway wearing his clothes, all of which hung off her thin frame like a sheet.

"Where's my underwear?" She asked, arms crossing under her breasts. Small breasts, like Renee's...He closed his eyes at the intruding thoughts.

"I threw them away."

"What? Why'd you go and do that?" She stepped forward.

"Because," he didn't offer anything else to that statement.

"Because why?"

"You'll get new shit soon. So shut up and grab a plate. I got us pizza." He motioned to the cupboard next to th3e sink. "Hope you like Hawaiian. There's beer if you want."

She closed her eyes, took in a deep breath and let it out. "Probably better if I stick to water."

The cups and plates were in the same cupboard. Dean leaned against the fridge as he watched Maya's ultimate struggle just to get one of the plates down. Barefoot and on tiptoes she did get a plate but the cups were up on a higher shelf, well out of her reach.

"When you gain weight, you should try to gain some height," Dean said as he came up behind her.

Pressing up against her back, locking her between his body and the sink counter, Dean got a cup down with ease. Maya turned when he stepped back a little.

"I'll be in the front room watching something." He said, forcing himself not to look at her large wide and deep green eyes.

Her eyes made Dean shake on the inside, a fact he didn't quite understand himself. Renee's hazel brown eyes always switched from brown to blue in a certain way she would look at him. Maya's eyes were just two glistening emeralds looking at him.

Cursing himself two ways from Sunday, calling himself every derogatory name he could think of, Dean settled in on watching a late night boxing match. It gave him a reprieve from the skinny, mousy-haired he left in his kitchen.

He saw her sit down on the couch as he waited for the commercial to be over. She lifted the pizza box lid, stared at contents for a solid minute before pulling a slice out. Hiding a laugh, Dean ate his slice in silence as the match came back on.

The quiet in the room, aside from the noise of the boxing match, was peaceful. Maya didn't talk, she didn't say anything for the longest time while she ate two large slices of pizza and then half of the third. She stopped only to chew or get a drink of her water.

"So, where did you get this sweet switchblade from?" He pulled it out of his pocket and put it down on the coffee table.

She looked at it. "Why?"

"Don't know, just making a conversation." He shrugged.

Maya didn't say anything. She dropped her partially eaten slice of pizza on her plate and leaned back.

"So?" He asked.

"My fiance," she said. "And before you ask, he's dead."

The twist of the knife in his chest hurt briefly. Maya refused to look at him, she stared at her plate.

"Sorry to hear that." Dean hurt even muttering that.

He flinched when she reached over fast. Instead of going for the switchblade she grabbed his beer bottle and lifted it to her plump mouth. She took a gulp, groaned and put it back.

"That's shit." She wiped the back of her hand over her mouth. "I prefer Bud Light."

The first smile, one he hadn't felt in a long time, spread across his face. An actual smile, nothing else but humor behind it.

He grabbed the bottle and finished it off in several pulls.

Again, they fell into a quiet as she finished most of her food. Before long, as the boxing match ended, Maya was nodding off on the couch. When Dean flipped the television off Maya looked at him.

"Let's hit the sack." He said as he picked up his plate and bottle.

He went into the kitchen and dumped his crusts and put his empty bottle in a recycle bin under the sink. Dean turned around and watched Maya walk in with her plate and cup.

"I'll need a blanket and pillow if I'm sleeping on the couch." She said as she tossed her leftovers.

"You're sleeping in my bed tonight." He said.

She turned towards him. "I'm not sleeping with you."

"Who said anything about sleeping?" He smirked.

"I'm serious, Dean Ambrose." She crossed her arms over her chest.

"So am I, Maya Gilbert. You're sleeping in my bed tonight." He smiled a little bigger. "My happy ass is sleeping on the couch."

She blinked, she shook her head slightly and then took a deep breath. "Why are you being so mean to me?" She asked.

"Why do you think?" He walked out of the kitchen shortly after.

She followed, of course, she would. They walked to the main bedroom, her following in step behind him. "So you're not going to sleep in here?"

"No. But I'm going to make damn sure you're not going to try to leave. See this?" He held up a keyring with some keys on it. "These are going to be on me, right here." He shoved them in his front pocket. "Sleep tight, Maya Mouse."

He left her in his room and went across the hall to the closet Renee set up for extra pillows and bedding. He grabbed the nearest pillow and fleece blanket before settling down in front of the dark television and fell asleep with thoughts of emerald green eyes in his mind.

* * *

**There you go. Thanks to the people who have stuck around to read this rewrite, I really appreciate the reads and the comments from you guys. I'll have another one up in a few days time.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

It wasn't a cot, it wasn't hard stone Maya slept on that night. For the first time in months, Maya slept in an actual bed. Waking up alone had been hard to do but she was thankful to wake up in the first place.

Waking up in a strange man's room scared her worse than Jeremy's dead eyes. He'd been staring at her from where he lay close by. His eyes were what scared her awake more than the softness of the bed.

Maya gasped, threw off the blanket and ran. "Jeremy! Please!" She ran out of the room, into a dim hall and went for the only door her bleary eyes could make out.

Coherence didn't register as she tried the door. It was locked. She pounded on the door with her fist, hoping that Jeremy would open it for her.

"Jeremy!" She cried as she pounded away at the door.

"What the fuck you doing, Mouse?" The gruff man grabbed her shoulders.

"Jeremy, help me!" She cried as her vision blurred from tears.

"Maya, Maya Mouse, wake the fuck up." She felt herself being shaken.

She looked up and found Dean looking at her. His hands gripped her upper arms and he didn't look menacing, he looked sort of scared. Scared for her.

"I'm sorry." She reached up and wiped a tear away from her cheek. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

"Waking up in a strange place can do that." He stepped back. "Who's Jeremy? The fiance who died?"

"Yeah, he was calling for me. I...I don't like when it happens." She wiped another tear away. "Only ever happened in an actual bed. It never happened in a shelter or on the street."

She saw him rake a hand over his head. "Breakfast, go make breakfast."

"What?"

"Get in the damn kitchen and take your mind off your problem. That's what Renee used to do. I'm going to get dressed." He then walked away, his fingers still raking through his sandy hair again.

Dean didn't tell her what he wanted or what to make. There wasn't much she could do, or make but doing something was better than nothing.

In the kitchen, Maya looked through cupboards and found a waffle maker and pancake some pancake mix in a cupboard. She had to grab a chair to get them and a few other things like a measuring cup and a mixing bowl. She wasn't sure how much he wanted so Maya just guessed.

Whoever Renee was, she had the right idea; making food got her mind off of her disturbing dream. Mixing batter with water, stirring the contents together and waiting for the waffle iron to heat up was what kept her from thinking of the shitty life she had, what she had left behind, and for a brief moment forgot about Dean. At least until he returned.

"Feeling better?" He asked as he walked into the kitchen.

"Yeah. Tell Renee I said thanks."

"Can't." He said. "She's dead."

Maya looked over her shoulder at him. Dean was leaning to the fridge and grabbed a beer bottle.

"Waffles?" Maya asked.

"I prefer pancakes." He responded.

"Sure, why not. Where do you keep the skillet?"

Dean walked around her, kneeled down at a floor cupboard where he pulled one out. He turned the electric range on and then walked back into the front room.

Taking a deep breath, Maya set to work again. She poured out a large pancake that almost fit the entire skillet.

"How many do you want, Dean?" She called out.

"Three, with butter and nonfat syrup." He replied.

She found the syrup and waited for his pancakes to be finished. Maya started her waffles when Dean's third pancake was cooking.

She carried two plates into the front room. "Here you go, Dean." She said, then put it down in front of him on the coffee table.

"Thanks, Babe."

"You're welcome." She said and looked at the MLB game that Dean was watching. "Who's playing?" She asked as she sat down on the other end of the couch.

"Reds versus Red Sox."

"Go Sox."

"Screw you, Reds are better."

"If it was NBA I would be all over the Celtics." She said.

"You a fan of the Celtics?"

"Don't know much about it, other than knowing Jeremy and my Dad loved them. It's one of the reasons why Dad said yes to the proposal. That and any team associated with New England, so they were Patriots fans. I just liked that they got along at all."

"Where is your old man? Why aren't you staying with him?" Dean asked before taking a bite of his food.

"He died of a heart attack a few years ago, before Jeremy and I set up a marriage date. I hated my stepmom, one of my cousins had to be the one to tell me what happened. We had a fucking fight right after the funeral." She stabbed her two waffles with her fork and started cutting with her knife.

Much like the early morning dinner they had, they ate in silence. Dean had paid attention to the baseball game. Sox and Reds were having a good game, the score was nearly neck and neck through most of the game. She watched from time to time, only to have something else to focus on than her life.

Dean finished his pancakes before Maya finished her waffles. She was on her last two bites when there was a knock on the front door. The sudden sound almost made Maya dropped her fork. Dean came out of the kitchen, pulled his keys out of his pocket and unlocked the front door.

"Diane, why did Junior bring you here?" Dean asked.

"Junior?" Seth asked as he followed a nicely dressed older woman into the penthouse.

"He's playing, Seth." The woman looked vaguely familiar.

She had salt and pepper curly hair, brown eyes and the same nose as Seth. She wore a suit in rich dark colors like black and brown. Maya had seen her somewhere before but where was unknown.

"Diane Rollins," the woman walked up to Maya with a smile on her face. "I heard you stole my son's wallet last night."

"Uh," she stood up with her plate. "Sorry, hi."

"Now I can see why you would do such a thing. At least you had a reason for it." Diane's eyes traveled the height of Maya as she opened a large work case, a briefcase of richer brown leather and price. "Keys and my ID card, my case files. Where the hell did I put that damn thing?" She rummaged around and pulled out a large wallet looking thing. "Okay, cell phone in case I have to go in early. Here," she handed Maya something. "I put a grand on that card for you to go clothes shopping today."

"I don't, I don't understand."

"Do you really think I'm going to have you running around in Dean's clothes?" Diane tilted her head. "No. You're going to get new clothes today. Today, oh when is Handsome Reigns coming over?" She looked at Seth.

"I think he slept in, Mom."

"Of course he does." She shook her head. "Unfortunately I can't go because I'm the District Attorney for Las Vegas but I'm sure my son and his friends will keep you in good hands."

Then Diane reached out and took Maya's almost empty plate before heading to the kitchen.

"Mom did suggest that you make up for what you did," Seth said when Maya looked at him. "I talked to Neville and he said we could use some serving girls for the club."

"I've waitressed before." Maya looked at the card in her hand. "This is too much."

"It's fine. You're going shopping. What woman doesn't want to go shopping?" Dean asked.

Maya's stomach twisted. Sure it had been a dream to wear nice clothes but she didn't earn the money the right way, the legal way.

"You are going to feed the girl while you're out today right, Seth?" Diane asked as she came back into the front room.

"Yes, Mom, I am. Afterward, we're going to Irish Whip Gym to meet with some of the guys."

"You're taking her to a gym? Really?"

"Jeremy used to go to Irish Whip when he wasn't out on deployment," Maya said. "I used to pick him up from there. Before he died at least."

"Oh, honey." Diane walked up to her and pulled Maya into a hug. "I'm so sorry."

Maya didn't outright hug Diane back but it was close enough to one. She pressed her hand into the middle of the woman's back as her face was buried in her shoulder. Just another curse for being so short.

When Diane pulled away she smiled at Maya. "You were given a shitty life, now we can fix it."

Maya opened her mouth but nothing came out. How could she react to something like that?

"Well," Diane patted Maya's shoulders. "I have to get going. District Attorney stuff is never done, I'm afraid. Oh, Seth, we need to have a sit-down and talk about your gentlemen's club. There's something not right."

"Neville's mentioned something like that. We'll do lunch sometime, Mom."

She pulled him down and kissed his cheek.

* * *

After Diane left, Seth and Dean were alone in Dean's front room. Well as alone as having Maya standing in there as well.

"Money problems with the Club?" Dean asked.

"We're losing it somewhere. The number of people coming in aren't adding up and Neville can't really understand why. I guess he told my mom when he couldn't get a hold of me." Seth said.

Dean looked over at Maya, her eyes focused on the debit card in her hand. Her face held something like worry in it, her pale face creased in areas that shouldn't have been. When she looked up at him, Dean looked at Seth who was dialing a number in his cell phone.

"When is our hero coming?"

"I don't know. I'm trying to find out now." Seth mumbled.

"Should I, should I get dressed? To leave I mean." Maya asked.

"Change into what? I tossed all your shit out. Guess we'll have to get you some bras and undies, unless you like going commando."

"Man, really?" Seth asked.

Dean smirked in response.

"Damn it, Roman, pick up. Shit, I know he loves his ex and all but I would love to have him show up when I need him." Seth then slid his phone in his back pocket before running a hand over his bearded face.

"Did he go home with one of the performers? Please, if he did don't let it be Eva Marie. Who knows what she's carrying." Dean said.

Seth shrugged. "I didn't see him after closing. He won't skip out on a workout at Irish Whip. That much is for sure."

"Soldier boy hasn't been himself since his last breakup."

"Yeah, why do you think? He's almost sucked dry financially. His last girl was a gold digger." Seth said as he turned to Maya.

She shrugged. "Okay."

"Not like you. He's a good Catholic boy." Dean added. "Too bad he almost married an incubus."

"How do you know that?" Seth questioned.

Dean ignored his friend's question but responded with his own. "Let me guess, you brought your damn Lambo?"

"Yep." Seth grinned and waved his keys around. "Let's get going. We'll just meet up with Roman later."

"So, where are we going?" Maya asked as they left the apartment.

"The Mall," Seth said as Dean locked up. "Well that's what it was called, First Mall was more of a shopping center area. It's where my Mom really likes to shop."

The elevator down the hall went all the way down to the basement parking garage. And of course, Seth brought the black Lamborgini, considering the red one seemed to be a target for the cops in the great Vegas area. High rollers like Rollins always had nicer things.

"You parked it next to my Harley? If you put a ding in it so help me…" Dean said through gritted teeth.

Maya's face went white, whiter than usual. She stared at his motorcycle. She stared at his motorcycle like it was a rabid dog. One balled up fist was pressed into the center of her chest as she held onto something under said shirt.

"Hey, we're over here," Seth called out as he stood next to the Lambo.

Maya turned and looked at him. She lowered her gaze at him. She lowered her gaze and walked up to the Lambo. She got in the backseat as Seth held the door open for her.

"Dude, what happened?" Seth asked as he closed the door.

Dean shrugged. "I don't know. She was staring at my bike like it was going to attack her or something."

"So don't take her for a ride."

"Only Renee ever wanted that. I don't want that Mouse on the back of my Harley."

"I'm not asking you to fall in love with her. Just be nice."

Dean crossed his arms. "Why couldn't one of the women take her shopping?"

"I don't want her trying to run off." Then Seth got in the driver's seat.

Dean got in the front passenger seat and spied Maya in the back. She was looked small as before, her gaze out the tinted windows but he could see the far off look on her face. She was thinking of something that he wasn't going to ask her about.

They took the Strip to the main thoroughfare that went to the Mall. Las Vegas was a mecca for shopping and all things fun, which included gambling. The place where they were going was in an upper scale neighborhood. There was a shopping center there that had Diane's boutique she liked to visit called Flair Fashion.

Seth parked his Lambo and got out to open Maya's door for her. Dean rolled his eyes as he got out.

"Right this way, Maya," Seth said.

Dean's lips curled upward when Seth touched Maya's back to guide her towards the boutique. He shouldn't have cared but he did, the why escaped him as he followed them.

It as the same boutique Renee used to shop at. Seth's mom became everyone's mom at some point- it was no different for Renee. She loved this place, her and Neville's wife often shopped there together before it all ended. He hadn't been to this place in over a year.

"What sort of things do you wear?" Seth asked Maya.

"Sensible." She looked around. "Jeans, shirts, undershirts. When I worked at a diner I wore slacks and a white blouse. But everything here looks too expensive."

"Really, you're worried about the cost?" Dean asked as he eyed some lingerie a few racks over.

"How am I going to pay your mother back for this?" She asked Seth as she held up the debit card.

"You're not. Now go find some clothes." Seth said.

"Or I'll find something for you and it'll be the skimpiest outfit in the store. I'll even help you pick out some matching bras and panties. You're what, an A Cup?" Dean raked his eyes over her, from head to toe, a smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth.

"Please ignore him. Go find something." Seth nudged her towards a rack of pants. When she walked off Seth glared at Dean.

"What?" He tugged on his leather jacket.

"You're such an ass."

Nothing else was new about that.

* * *

**I hope you guys liked this. I've got more to come soon.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Maya cringed. The red blouse was like sixty dollars and that black pair of jeans was the cheapest at forty dollars. Flair Fashion was more than a flair for fashion, it was also a flair for cash, everything was extremely expensive. Maya stuck with the sale section but that didn't mean anything was cheaper there.

When they had parked in the parking center she had seen a store that boasted fair prices for name brand items. It was like a Ross or a Burlington, but more fashionable. That was the kind of thing, along with thrift stores, was something Maya would have liked to have gone to. But she was stuck in a boutique where everything was overpriced and overly, just over.

Maya looked around the rack of pretty tops and saw Seth leaning on a counter while talking to the saleswoman who had greeted them when they walked in. A glance around, but Maya couldn't see Dean anywhere. If he wasn't there then he may have gone somewhere else.

The thought was there. Flair Fashion didn't have the things that Maya would have wanted to spend her gifted debit card. It didn't have the attire that she would need for when she worked at Rollins' Rockers. Well, maybe the black low rise jeans on the sales rack. Yeah, those would work but then she would need a top, but she considered not anything that would show too much skin.

Shopping in an expensive store was hard. Everything was not functional. Wal-Mart was her thing. Thrift store shopping…

Dropping the pants back on the rack, Maya walked towards the boutique door. Seth was too busy chatting with the woman to notice Maya leave the store. Dean wasn't anywhere to be seen. The store that caught her attention, Fashion Foundation, where it was announced that a portion of the proceeds went to a local animal shelter. But the first thing she saw when walking in the store was a ten dollar pair of black jeans, similar to the ones she saw at Flair's but a quarter of the price.

The smell caught her off guard soon after the prices. It was welcoming, especially with the greeting she received from the woman that was at the check out counter.

"Did you need any help, ma'am?" The dark-skinned woman asked.

"No. I'm just looking. It's my first time here." It's her first time in an upscale neighborhood.

She walked further into the store, which was relatively big enough. But as she got to the first row of clothing racks, Neville walked around into view and stopped. His dark hazel eyes looked at her, his hard face unreadable. He glanced over her shoulder and then back at her.

"Where's Dean?" The Englishman asked.

"I don't know. Seth is at Flair's Fashion. I, uh, I wanted to come here instead." Maya fumbled with her words in her head. "I didn't like the prices over there."

Neville draped a dark colored suit jacket over his arm. "What are you looking for?"

"Sensible and work-related. It's just Seth's mother put a grand on this debit card and the other place was too expensive with none of my tastes." She even held up the card to show him.

His face softened a little, even his eyes behind his glasses softened just a fraction. Neville flashed the barest of smiles as he sighed.

"We'll find something for you. Although running from Dean was a bad idea." Neville said.

"Why?"

"He doesn't do catch and release very good."

"What does that mean?"

"He'll hunt you down once he knows you're missing. Best to just stay here while I go find him."

"Seth was talking to a saleswoman at Flair's. Can you tell him first?" Maya asked.

"Sure. Hold this but don't leave this shop." Neville handed her the suit jacket then he walked out of the store.

Maya took this time to herself to peruse the racks of clothing. The jeans she spotted earlier on display were on a rack of other jeans of varying colors. Next to it were skinny strapped tops that would work for the Rollins' Rockers, not that she was willing to wear something like that all the time. If she had to then she would. The place was like a Ross or a Burlington, but at low prices for upper scale clothing, and it was more of a budget hunter's dream. Choosing two jeans, then a few tops, Maya began to hum as she found more clothes than she ever thought possible.

She was engrossed with another pair of black low rise jeans to notice that the man approached.

Two large hands grabbed her upper arms and Maya gasped. He turned her around and she was staring up at the hard face of Dean Ambrose.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" He shook her slightly. "Answer me, damn it."

She herself shook, her body twitching as the pain in her arms dulled compared to her fear.

"I'm sorry," she finally choked out.

"You should have said something, Maya," Seth said as he walked up, though his face in a calmer appearance than Dean's. Even Neville came back.

Neville pried Dean's fingers off her. "I told her as such. But I don't think making her spend an absurd amount of money on equally absurd fancy clothing is her thing. She wasn't trying to get away."

"I'll make damn sure she doesn't do it again," Dean growled.

Seth ran a hand over his face and down his beard. "Either way, I'm glad you didn't skip out on this, Maya. Next time just say something."

"Okay." She handed Neville his suit jacket back. "I found some really nice things and maybe an entire work outfit." She showed him her armful of stuff. "I'm going to try them on now."

When no one objected, she headed towards the sign that said Fitting Rooms. Dean followed. She kept her head low, she didn't veer from the path to the changing rooms for fear of his outburst. She felt like a weight lifted off her as she closed the door behind her, leaving Dean on the outside.

* * *

He stood with his arms crossed. Dean was beyond steaming at what that Mouse did. Sure she didn't run far, actually, she seemed more at ease when he found her. It still didn't matter, she'd run off without saying anything. She could have skipped town with a grand on a pre-paid debit card and started a new life somewhere else.

But she didn't, he had to remind himself.

She had a smile, a small one as big as her height. He heard something like a hum as her eyes scanned clothing on the rack. She was at ease, something he never gave her a chance at.

"What are you doing here, Nevs?" Seth asked.

Dean looked back at them, arms still crossed and still standing in front of Maya's changing room door.

"They have good suits here. Melissa enjoyed the sales and the fashion." Neville made eye contact with Dean. "Try not to scare her so much, yeah?"

"Grabbing Maya like that wasn't smart," Seth said. "She looked so scared of you."

"She should be. She should have just found a job rather than try to steal your wallet.:" He countered.

"I couldn't. The temp agency refused to help me because I was beyond help. They could only help at risk people." Her light voice said from behind him. "Is this good enough to work in the Club, Seth?"

The three men looked at her. Black tight jeans, a burgundy v-neck top with a black sports bra covering any exposed chest skin. She looked great, if in a conservative kind of way.

"Well, once you put some weight on you'll look better," Seth said as he rubbed his chin. "Yeah, that would work."

"They wear skimpy stuff in the club, I wouldn't feel comfortable with that." She said as she played with the hem of her shirt.

"She's more casino server girl," Neville said as his gaze raked over her. "Not saying she should work up there but she would fit in better."

Seth nodded. "Yeah, maybe. How about this, she works Wednesdays in the club and then she'll work in the Casino the rest of the time, giving her and Dean Sunday for their days off."

There was no mistaking the sigh Maya huffed out. She didn't say anything as she returned to the changing room.

"I think her working up in the Casino would be better. Little thing was shaking when Dean left her to go find you at the club." Neville said. "I don't blame her."

Like a majority of the men in Seth's crew, Neville was tough, no mistaking the bulk in his five foot eight frame. Where Dean was tall and on the lanky side, Neville was strong for a man of his size.

"Did you find anything on her?" Dean asked, knowing their Bookkeeper would have gone snooping. "She kept talking about a fiance named Jeremy."

"Her case ran into AJ Styles. He was doing beat work at the time when a motorcycle versus truck hit-n-run occurred. He, AJ, says that they were struck out on a desert road, Jeremy died but she survived with no memory of what happened."

It was similar, too damn similar to what had happened for Neville and Dean.

"Coincidence?" Seth asked.

"The road was close to where Melissa was found." Neville glanced at Dean.

He turned and stared at the changing room door.

"We'll talk to her later about it," Seth said. "Are you heading to Irish Whip later, Nevs?"

"Yeah. Finn ought to be there."

"Oh good, the man who doesn't eat carbs." Dean had nothing against the Irish card shark, he was too damn perfect in the eyes of women. He was a big reason why women came to Rocker's Casino and to Women's Night on Wednesday Rollins' Rockers.

"You still can't be jealous of him, Dean." Seth crossed his arms.

"Who are you to say, Man? Your abs aren't even pronounced liked Nevs." Dean retorted.

"Have you been checking me out, Dean?" Neville asked with the barest of smirks on his face.

Neither of the three men said anything, just eyed each other.

The changing room door opened and Maya stepped out. She wore a short black dress, showing pale legs and covering little to nothing. That was more appropriate for an evening but hid all the necessary things while showing off just how damn skinny she was. Not work appropriate or anything, but something to take off after a dinner.

"Don't like it. Put something else on." Dean said as he waved his hand like he was waving off of a fly.

"I like it but you'll have to put some weight on. You look like a walking skeleton, Babe." Seth said.

Dean glared at Seth. Seth in turned smirked back at him. Neville rolled his eyes and turned away, making it seem like he was interested in some other clothes nearby.

"Well, what am I supposed to wear, Seth?" She crossed her arms. "I don't know anything about working at a casino or the Club. And what happens on Wednesdays at the Club anyway?"

"Wednesdays are Women's Night. I usually serve the patrons but men perform for the women." Neville said.

Her eyes grew large. Her face took on a reddish blush as she ducked her head and looked at her bare feet.

"Wow, you're a prude, aren't you?" Dean asked.

She managed a red-faced glare at him. Something in that look almost hurt as she turned and walked back into the changing room.

"Are you always a git?" Neville asked.

Seth had his arms crossed as well. "No, he's not. Apparently, she's just a special case."

Dean grinned. "Showing her who is boss. We don't need any problems with the Club or Casino or Deal with a missing inventory." He didn't keep his voice down for that last part either.

* * *

**Hope you liked it. I'll be back with more in a bit because I'm handwriting it as I go.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Maya left the store with more clothes than she ever had in her life at one time. She hadn't expected to have fashion tips from a man either.

"The red makes it look like your hair is auburn." Neville had mentioned when she picked up a red top. "Melissa would approve."

"Who is Melissa? If you don't mind me asking." Maya looked at the broad shouldered man before going back to her browsing.

"My wife, she was my wife. She died in an automobile accident some time back."

"I'm sorry. I lost a fiance the same way about a year and half ago." She said.

Neville made a humming sound but otherwise stayed quiet. Maybe she had bothered him with that question, so she decided not to bring it up again.

Dean had left the store earlier. Neville stuck around and Seth did, too, only he was busy with a series of business calls. By the end of the shopping trip, Neville helped Maya carry six bags of various clothing types out to Seth's Lambo.

Dean stomped out a cigarette. "Finally, I thought you guys would never leave."

"I thought you quit smoking." Seth said as he looked the guy over.

"Yeah well not everyone's perfect." Dean looked at Maya. "Get enough bras and undies, Mouse?"

"Like you'll ever find out." She responded.

"While you're staying with me, yeah I will."

"Seth, is there another place I can stay where I'll be safe?" Maya asked her soon-to-be employer.

"Not right now. I'm staying with Roman until my place is fixed up from renovations. Dean's not all that bad if you look beyond his shitty personality."

"It took me a while to get used to it," Neville said.

Neville said he'd be at Irish Whip to meet up with Finn, a man that worked for Seth apparently. Dean at least ate his tongue and didn't speak as they left. Neville drove his own car, a nice little compact silver speedster thing. Though they did manage to stop off to get Maya something to eat before going to the gym.

The drive was longish, but where they were headed was on the other side of Las Vegas. Irish Whip was a place Maya knew well because Jeremy went there when he wasn't on deployment. It was just the same Maya remembered it around a year and half a go.

Seth parked in front of Irish Whip, where the face of a flaming redhead man greeted them on the front wall.

"So you know Sheamus O'Shaunessy?" Maya asked offhandedly.

"Our bartender Cesaro is Sheamus' friend. He gives us a discount membership because I helped keep this place out of the red." Seth said.

Neville parked nearby and got out with an athletic bag. He nodded at Maya before walking through the electric front door.

Dean pushed Maya to the gym's door, which slid open for them.

Memories of walking into this place, smelling the manly smell of men working out, hit Mya in the face and chest. She stopped just inside the door, only to have Dean put his hands on her shoulders and steer her forward.

"Oy, I was wondering when you'd show up." The large white skinned redhead man stepped out from behind the counter. "Roman has been waiting for ya. Best not let him wait anymore."

"Hello to you, too, Sheamus," Neville said.

"Ah, sorry about that, Nevs. How is ya doing?"

Mya saw the barest of smiles from Neville. "Could be better, but we'll see how things go." He nodded at Maya and then headed towards the men's locker room.

"Oh, didn't see you there. Who are you, little one?" Sheamus asked as he looked at her.

"Oh, she's my little mouse. Maya Gilbert, Sheamus O'Shaunessy." Dean said, his front really close to her back.

She stepped to the side, but she didn't want to seem rude. "It's nice to meet you again, Mr. Shaunessy."

"Have we met before?"

"My fiance came here when he wasn't on deployment."

"A lot of the army folks come here. I might not originally be from here but I respect the military enough to give them a discount."

She smiled, but Dean grabbed her wrist and tugged her in a certain direction. Maya found herself in the middle of a large room with lots and lots of gym equipment, the kind that muscle-bound men were working on. Men with large arms, tight abs and one man that seemed to be lifting more weights than anyone else in the place. Of course, he looked like a mountain lumberjack with that beard and long hair pulled back in a ponytail.

The other bouncer, Roman Reigns, was stacking some dumbbells when Seth and Dean stuck behind Dean but he grabbed her elbow and pulled her around to be on his side.

"Hey, man. Can you watch the Mouse while I get changed?" Dean asked.

The man racked the weights and stood up. He and Dean were about the same height, but Roman was larger in muscle than Dean. Already sweating and bare-chested, Maya looked away when he reached for a towel near her hip.

"Yeah, sure," Roman said.

Maya stepped away from the weight station, just to put some space between the large man and herself.

"I heard Diane Rollins gave you some money for some clothes. Did you get everything you need?" Roman asked as he wiped off his chest.

"Yes," she rubbed her arm. "Um, they wanted me to wear normal clothes, considering Dean tossed out almost all my belongings."

Her voice faltered when she saw Neville walking next to a slightly taller bearded man. This man was beautiful. Just plain beautiful. She straightened out Dean's shirt when Neville and this beautiful man approached her and Roman.

"Maya, I want you to meet my friend, Finn Balor. Finn, this is Seth's new server girl, Maya Gilbert." Neville said.

"Nice to meet you," the man said in an equally sexy and beautiful Irish accent. "How are you, Maya?"

"I'm okay," she smiled regardless of how dry her mouth had gotten while trying not to focus on the fact that he was shirtless.

"Have you eaten, Maya?" Neville asked.

"Oh, uh, yeah. We stopped on the way here to pick something up. I ate in the car." She answered.

"Neville mentioned that you've been hard up lately. Is there anything you need? I'd be happy to help." Finn reached out and rubbed Maya's arm.

"Oh, no. I, uh, have to pay Seth and his mother back. He's given me a job, which is more than what I have had in the last year or so. But thank you." She smiled at him.

"Then how about a date?"

The man was really tempting, with that smile and those eyes, to say the least, he had a beauty about him that was almost otherworldly. Beguiling and playful. Everything Dean apparently was not.

As tempting as this man was, Maya shook her head. "I'm sorry. I'm not, well I would rather worry about the job I haven't started first. But if you wait a little while, maybe a month, then we'll see."

"Sensible," Neville said with a nod of his head.

"Someone has to be." Roman spoke up. "If I remember right, you picked Seth's pocket…"

Her mood fell into her beat up shoes. Maya looked at her feet and rubbed the back of her hand as she knew the handsome man was looking more at her then than before.

"He caught you?" Finn asked.

"Dean did. But I didn't more than a hundred. Just enough for some food and get my clothes washed. That way I could impress the temp agency that refused to help me get a job."

"When I first came to American, I was sure I'd get at least a modeling job. Not that Chippendale dancing for women is worse, actually it's better." She looked at Finn. "If not for Seth, I wouldn't have a job. I wouldn't have met you."

Maya bit her lip to hide her smile. That man knew all the right things to say.

"How about you piss off Dean more, Finn?" Neville looked off at a spot in the gym. "His face is almost as red as Sheamus' beard."

"Why would he be mad?" Maya tried to look but Finn caught her chin and turned her back towards him.

"Has Dean staked his claim?" Finn asked.

"What? No," she tried to pull away from him.

"Then make this look believable." He went from touching her chin to touching her arm, rubbing it slightly as he drew her closer to him.

Maya continued to look at Finn while he talked about anything and everything. Neville purposefully turned away from what Finn was doing, making conversations with Roman who seemed to understand what was going on. So, biting the bullet, Maya pretended to act like she was interested in what Finn was saying, smiling at him.

"So, as you can see…" Finn started.

"Maya," Dean nearly growled out as he stomped up to them.

"Hi, Dean. Finn was just telling me an interesting story." She patted Finn's hand that was resting on her upper arm.

"I told you to watch her, Rome," Dean said as he pulled her away from Finn's grasp.

"There's nothing wrong with talking to someone," Roman replied.

Dean wrapped an arm around Maya's shoulders, pulling her away from the group further. Maybe Finn was right, Neville as well. Dean was trying to keep her away from Finn, but why? He'd never made any sort of advancements towards her before.

"How about that date, Maya?" Finn asked, but she caught the wink he sent her way.

"No," Dean cut in before she could speak. "Not going to happen."

"Can you be any more obvious, Dean?" Neville asked.

"What?"

"Jealousy doesn't suit you, Dean."

Seth approached the group. "Okay, let's get this workout going."

"Go over there and sit. Don't you dare move from that seat." Dean told her as he moved her towards a row of chairs near the front desk and the one-way windows that looked out at the parking lot.

Maya remembered those chairs. If Jeremy wasn't finished with his workout when Maya came to pick him up, she would sit there with a book or something and wait for him. This time around she had nothing to preoccupy her attention if watching large muscled men in various states of undress was something to ogle at. Maya watched the men, especially the ones with the bulging muscles and all, work out.

Dean, though not as muscled as Seth or Roman, he possessed a strength that equaled that of Jeremy. Dean's back flexed where his muscles moved under his pale flesh. His workout shorts worked their way down his hips. He'd have to pull on them to keep them in place. She would look away when Dean would look in her direction, usually to find someone else to watch, like Neville or Finn.

* * *

"Are you seriously that jealous?" Seth asked Dean who had stopped to look at his mouse.

"Shut up, Seth," Dean remarked.

"From what I saw, yes he's jealous," Roman said as he prepped his heavyweights.

"I'm not fucking jealous." Dean snapped at his friends.

Maya sat in her spot and hadn't moved. He would catch her watching someone, usually, it was Finn or Neville, but she'd look his way once in a while. Maya didn't move from that row of chairs as the men continued their workout.

"Jealous?" Seth asked. "That's the third glare you've given Neville and Finn since we've gotten here."

"More so at Finn than anything else," Roman remarked.

"I'm not jealous!" He yelled. Everyone, even Maya, looked at him. In response to Finn's amused ass grin, he flipped the Irishman off for it.

A slow smile spread across Roman's face as he looked past Dean. "Yes, Maya?"

She stood with her hands clasped in front of her. "I wanted to let Master Dean know I'm just going to the restroom. I didn't want him tearing the place up while I was gone."

"Fine, go." He waved her off.

"Yes, sir."

"I'll mark your ass with fifty shades of black and blue if you keep that up." He threatened her.

"Nice remark from the man who is more interested in my underwear." She responded which Seth choked on a snort.

Dean growled then headed for an unused heavy bag. If he wasn't careful he may have to scare the woman to keep her at arm's length.

His muscles were sore five, ten, fifteen minutes of swinging at the heavy bag. Every hit, a jab, an uppercut or a wide swing, cut into the chaos which resided in his head. The chaos of Rollin's Rockers, flashes of hazel brown eyes, Renee's laugh; it all came crashing back to the little mouse.

One jab, a low punch, another jab. Dean gritted his teeth as he batted away at each chaotic thought and feeling upon hearing Maya's giggle. Dean turned to the left and saw Maya and Finn. Maya obviously had come from her restroom break. Finn was sitting next to her in a chair talking about something that made her smile and laugh.

"Cards? You're a dealer at the Casino?" She asked as she pushed her hair away from her face but it came back. Finn pushed the hair behind her ear for her.

All the more reason to keep swinging at the heavy bag.

"Dean," Neville said from behind him.

"What?" He snapped at the Englishman.

"Trouble."

That one word had Dean catching the heavy bag and he turned around. Standing at the front of the gym was a prizefighter- Brock Lesnar- with his balding personal assistant. The assistant resembled a blobfish in a suit. An angry blob fish with a crackling voice that was arguing with Sheamus.

"I'm telling ya, I'm not closing for no one, fella. I have a gym to run." Sheamus said.

Grabbing a towel, Dean followed Seth and Roman towards the large Irishman who needed the help. Brock Lesnar was close to decking Sheamus.

"Look, this is Brock Lesnar you're turning down." That isn't the smartest thing to do." Blob Fish said.

"Hey, Shey," Seth said as he wiped his face and shoulders. "Everything okay?"

"Not really," Sheamus responded, still staring at the large men.

"Look, just having Brock Lesnar here will do you some good. If he's seen at your place, you'll have more clients coming in. Just close it down so that he can get a work out in."

Sheamus looked at Seth. Dean knew that Sheamus visually owned the gym but Seth owned it quietly. Though Seth didn't say much on how to run the place, in this case, Sheamus had a reason to turn to Seth. Dean couldn't fault the guy.

"What? You don't want a prizefighter here to bring in more clientele? A man of his status could raise your popularity a thousand fold if..." Dean stopped listening as the pale blonde man's attention followed someone.

This Brock Lesnar asshole was watching his Maya Mouse.

Maya was walking back from the restrooms oblivious to what was going on nearby. She had her attention drawn to Finn as he greeted her back over by the chairs.

Dean stepped in front of Lesnar, blocking his sight of the dark-haired woman.

"Got a problem?" Lesnar asked his tone low but near growling.

"Nah, unless it deals with what's mind," Dean said, edging closer to Lesnar. "So back the fuck off."

"I'm not closing my gym just for one fella," Sheamus said, bringing Lesnar's attention back. "You can train here but I'm not closing it for you."

"No one is going to bother me. I'm famous, you know. UFC and other places you've probably never heard of would love to hear how the infamous Irish Whip refused to let me train in peace." Lesnar sneered at the group.

"Shouldn't you let your mouthpiece speak for you?" Dean asked. He crossed his arms and returned the glare Lesnar giving him. "Or ya chicken shit?"

Fat man grabbed Lesnar's arm before the muscled man could pull back for a punch. "You have that squash match against Orton's new guy you have to get ready for."

"Eric Young won't last long." Lesnar laughed, loud and high the pompous ass.

Maya and others were watching them now. Lesnar grinned at her but she turned to Finn, who tapped her on her shoulder and said something in her ear. Dean caught Neville's pointed look while the two intruding men headed towards the male locker room.

"Dean, take Maya out and do something. I'm calling in a few Shield guys here, just to make sure nothing happens." Seth then nodded at Neville.

Neville nodded back and headed for the same locker room.

"I'm going to stick here and keep an eye on him. I don't want or need a fight going on in the one gym that I like." Roman said.

"Yeah, do that. I'll grab my shit and tell the mouse I'm taking her out somewhere." Dean said as he followed Neville into the locker room.

There was one thing to say about the locker room, it was well furnished and it was divided by a wall of lockers that separated two halves of the room. And Dean could hear everything the rat bastard and the asshole talking.

"I want to fuck her, that little brown haired whore out there," Lesnar said.

Neville shook his head at Dean, who had been close to breaking a hole through the wall to get to the asshole on the other side of the partition.

"Can we talk about Triple H? Look, Brock, the man is all about this place. We can't push too hard or they'll be on to us." Lesnar's lackey said.

The man in question laughed. "I heard you the first time, Paul. I don't care, I just want to fuck that nice little woman. I have she has a tight little ass..."

"That woman is nothing. This is all business."

"Shut up. I bet she'll scream like all the others. She reminds me of Lexi Moran, that mousy accountant they let me fuck a few times. All crying and shit. I wonder if this woman will be the same."

Neville grabbed Dean's arm. Neville motioned him to be quiet but it was hard to do. It was hard not to walk around the bank of lockers and nail the asshole for talking shit about Maya.

Grabbing his shit, Dean didn't bother to change. He left the locker room still without a shirt. He caught Finn chatting with Maya when he got back out to the main area of the gym. Seth, Roman, and Sheamus were still talking in a group at the front of the gym.

"Come on, Maya," Dean said as he approached her. "We're leaving."

She looked at him. "Oh, uh, sure. I guess I'll be seeing you later, Finn." She turned and smiled at the Irishman.

"No doubt about it, Maya." Finn ran his hand over her shoulder, probably just to piss Dean off further.

Dean saw Lesnar come out of the locker room, so he grabbed Maya's elbow and dragged her off towards the other exit door of the gym. He flung it open hit the electric keyring button to Seth's Lambo.

"Come on, stop. What's wrong with you?" Maya fought to pry his hand off of her.

"Get in the car, Mouse."

"No, tell me what's going on." She pulled her arm free. "What's going on? What's Brock Lesnar doing at Irish Whip?"

Dean grabbed her upper arm this time. "How do you know him?"

"I may be homeless but Lesnar is a highly paid UFC fighter. I saw him in the street on some night a televised fight happened."

His nose wrinkled.

Maya raised her hands and slapped them down on her thighs and then her back pockets. "The Paparazzi are easy to pick. Many are more worried about the pictures to feel their wallets missing."

He ran a hand over his head. "Get in the car, Maya. Just get in the damn car."

"Fine." She opened the passenger side door. "How is Seth getting home without a car?"

"He'll come by my place with Roman. Buckle up." Then he slammed the door shut.

He was just leaving when a black SUV pulled into the parking lot. There were a few guys that looked tough enough, each having a smartwatch on their wrist, something that Seth made sure that the Shield Corp used when doing their security stuff. At least Seth would have backup if Lesnar was to act up.

* * *

**Still attempting to write this to the end. I like where it is going. Hope you do too. Be back in a week hopefully.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Maya had been housed in Dean's apartment for another day and night and he had been uptight for that entire time. It was like he was trying to keep her away from something, maybe something. Initially, she assumed it was Finn but it seemed like something else.

She had gotten in the habit of cleaning anytime she dreamt of Jeremy, which had started to dwindle in that time but it was still happening. She couldn't go out and get food from the one nearby store, Dean usually ordered take out to be delivered to the penthouse.

"When am I going to start work?" She asked as they were sitting down for dinner on the third day of her stay with him.

"Seth hasn't decided," Dean said.

"When are you going back to work?"

"Yeah, no that's not happening." He then laughed.

Dean made no sense sometimes. Maya may have done some wrong things in the past to survive but she knew enough to figure out Dean was dealing with some heavy shit. If he was being defensive and evasive, it had to be for a reason. Maybe not a good one but there was one.

They were watching yet another sports game for yet another evening. This was becoming another normal routine for them, just sitting and watching something, whether it was a repeat or not, Dean always handled the remote and chose what to watch. He claimed because of her watching cooking shows he refused to let her watch anything alone.

"Want another beer?" Though why he was drinking beer with Asian take away was lost on Maya, it didn't hurt to offer. She chose water for herself.

"Yes, please."

At least he hadn't lost all his sensibility. He said please after all.

Just as Maya got back from the kitchen there was a knock on the front door. Dean dug his fabled key from his front pocket, unlocked the door and then opened it.

"Nevs? What brings you by?" Dean asked the man.

"Why isn't Maya downstairs?" Neville asked. "Seth wants her working."

Maya knew she had both Wednesday in the Rollins' Rockers but serving girl up in the Casino, at least that was what she had been told. Yet she had been stuck up in Dean's penthouse since coming back from Irish Whip Gym, forced to stay there with Dean looming over her nearly the entire time.

Whatever happened at the gym, Dean wasn't letting her out of his sight.

When Dean moved from the door, Maya f3lt her mouth fall open. Neville Satterly had a large manly chest with no sort of hair on it. He had a bow tie around his neck but the white button-up shirt was opened at about midway down his torso. There was no hiding the tightness of abs that the shirt had no way of hiding. If he were any other man, it would have been her wanting to run her hands over his chest and stomach. If she wanted to. Neville wasn't a flirty or touchy kind of guy, which she rather enjoyed.

His hazel green to brown eyes looked at her. "Get dressed, Maya. You're shadowing me tonight."

"Uh, okay. Are the jeans and that leather top okay?"

He nodded. So, Maya went to the bedroom closet to get her clothes to change. She was just getting her top off when the bedroom door pretty much banged opened.

Dean smiled when Maya sort of dove and ducked behind the bed.

"Dean! What the hell are you doing?" She yelled, holding her top to her chest. "Get out!"

"Hey, there's a walk-in closet and a bathroom. You could have gone to either of those." He actually stood there smiling his ass off.

"Get out of here, Dean! I mean it!"

Still smiling, he turned his head slightly. "Red bra? Got matching undies, Mouse?"

"You're a pervert." She snapped.

"Yep."

He grabbed his black leather jacket off the bed. She knelt down further behind the bed and watched him. He got his jacket, smiled again and left the room without saying a word. At least he closed the door behind him.

Maya took a deep breath, grabbed the rest of her clothes and ran to the bathroom. This time she locked the door. Not taking any chances this time; Maya wasn't going to let Dean ever do that again.

Back out in the master bedroom, she reached under the bed for her album. She looked at the last picture of her and Jeremy on his motorcycle. "I still miss you, Jeremy." She kissed her finger and ran it over Jeremy's face in the picture.

Maya closed the album and pushing it under the bed before she left the bedroom.

She saw a barely visible smile from Neville as she walked into the living room. Dean scowled.

"Ready." She said.

"About time." Dean tugged on his jacket.

"Don't start," Neville told Dean before looking at Maya again. "You'll be helping Cesaro with orders and you'll be following me around to get a layout of the tables."

"Sure." She could do that. It was no different than her waitressing job before her homelessness.

Downstairs, through the casino, they exited out the front doors, Neville brought up the rear, Dean led the way and Maya was in the middle of the two. The air had gotten warmer since her pseudo imprisonment and it was so nice that nicely dressed women were walking down to Rollins' Rockers. The guy named Ryder seemed to be enthralled with the attention that the overly sexually dressed women were giving him since he was basically dressed like Neville at that point, different from when she had seen him originally.

"Neville, we have an entire bachelorette party waiting for their VIP booth. Think you can be an English gentleman and escort them there?" Zack asked.

The group turned around and looked at Neville and his exposed broad chest. Neville, for his part, smiled and motioned for the women to follow him through the nearby door. Maya started to follow the group but Dean grabbed her arm.

"What?" She asked as she looked at him.

"You know what."

"I don't," Ryder said. They both looked at him. "Do I know you?" He asked Maya.

"I'm the pickpocket." Maya glared at Dean. "I have to see Cesaro, Ambrose. You're the one keeping me from work."

Dean actually glared back at her. As they stood facing each other, Ryder watching on, the head had Maya sweating at the center of her chest and her upper back. Whatever dean was thinking, she wasn't privy to know or understand what was going on in his disheveled head- not that she wanted to know.

"Go." Dean finally said, motioning to the door.

So she did.

Maya noticed a difference straight off between the male dancers and the women strippers she had seen only a few night prior. The musky smell was less, women sat around tables drinking fruity cocktails and there was a distinct performance of muscular men on stage dancing to Justin Timberlake's Sexy. All while shedding tear away clothing for the women to holler at. They never got closer than to little boxer briefs of varying colors by the end of it.

The women Neville had shown in, giggled behind hands as he walked away from their table. One woman tried to grasp his butt, except her friend stopped her.

And the other difference was that there were male servers, dressed similar to Neville, who were also serving various tables.

Dean pushed her toward the bar where the tall bald man with a vague Jason Statham looked served a few women at the bar. Though he was dressed in an overcoat, no shirt with a bow tie and similar slacks as the servers, he gave off an overly sexualized James Bond feeling as Maya and Neville met at the serving section of the bar.

"Six gin and tonics for our VIPs at table three," Neville said to Cesaro.

"Coming up." A younger man, dressed similarly to Cesaro said as he came up with a few glasses. "This is for Table twelve in the back. Ziggler is covering your half while you were gone."

"Thanks, Chris. Maya, follow me." Neville said. "I'll show you the ropes."

She knew Dean followed her, but at least he kept his distance so that she could do her job.

"Hello, luvs." Neville greeted the group of women. "My assistant, Maya, is learning the ropes. Who ordered the Appletini?" As he lowered the tray to their level to show them their drinks.

"You're working with these hot guys?" A short dark haired woman asked. "What's it like? Do you see naughty bits?"

Maya laughed. "I just started but you'll be the first to know if i do." She said as she put down a gin and tonic.

Dean hung back, thankfully leaving her to shadow Neville. She learned the tables, learned that the dancers on stage often left the stage to interact with the women at tables further back from the stage. This included Finn when he came out.

He came out to thumping music, an alluring guitar rift, and white fog smoke. He was definitely the top draw, women squealing as he came out in tight black pants, no shirt, and a black leather jacket. Pretty much all the female attendants went nuts. Hooting, hollerings and a few bills went flying in his general direction.

As Maya juggled a few martinis, Finn came down the steps, strutting like a prized cock on the walk. Though he flashed a few smiles at the patron's his gaze, all hot and bothering as it was, was on her.

"Only a special woman can acquire my jackets." He said, which echoed around the club. Finn had a headset microphone on, and he was looking directly at her.

Putting the martinis down on the table, Maya made to leave only she couldn't. Finn stood in her way, blocking any sort of escape. The serving tray clattered to the floor as Finn's fingertip traced her cheek.

"I've been watching this one for a while." He said in the most sexual tone any man could possibly say, even Jeremy hadn't managed that when he was alive. "Come with me, beautiful. You'll be front and center for my show."

Maya squeaked when Finn took her hand and led her back to the stage. She looked back at Neville as he picked up the fallen tray. Dean almost looked as red as Anger from the Inside Out movie, including the exploding head meme. The women, on the other hand, apparently knew what was going to happen but Maya didn't.

A stagehand had put a chair up on the stage. Finn kissed her hand and sat her down in that chair.

* * *

"Don't look so pissed off," Neville said as he walked back towards where Dean had been standing.

"I ain't pissed," he countered as Finn pretty much straddled Maya's legs, looking down at her as he opened his leather jacket. "I'll make damn sure he doesn't take her home tonight."

"He's not going to take something that isn't his," Neville commented as he headed back to the bar. "Roman called out tonight."

"What? Why?" He fell into step behind Neville.

Neville shrugged. "I don't know, he just called Seth to let him know that he wasn't coming in. Which kind of put us in a bing, though thankfully the newest Shield guy is standing close by."

Braun Strowman was not someone to take lightly if the mythical Paul Bunyan was anything to go by, this guy definitely didn't look like the kind of guy to be messed with. He stood at the area between the door to the back and the bar to make sure no one was going to have an issue.

Dean looked back at Maya, who was so red in the face as Finn proceeded to start unbuttoning his pants at her eye level. He had seen this routine every time Finn performed for Rollins' Rockers, he knew what was going to come next.

Yep, on cue, Finn took her hands and proceeded to drag them down his chest and stomach, purposefully drawing her hands to his hips and thighs, only skimming over his ass, which started to pull on his pants. The women watching with only a side view at this point were drawing out screams, some he was sure were orgasms as the small little trunks Finn wore started to show for them.

"Hey, I thought you didn't like her," Cesaro called out to him as he was prepping more drinks with Chris. "At least that's what Sheamus said."

"I'm not!" He yelled. A few of the women at the bar turned to look at him.

At the sound of women having mini orgasms as Finn drew her fingers into those trunks had Dean marching towards the stage. Maya was beyond red in the face as more hip flesh started appearing while Finn's jacket started to slide off his shoulders. It didn't help Finn was gyrating in Maya's face.

He stormed up the stage, pushed Finn off Maya, and proceeded to pick Maya up and carried her over his shoulder. Down the steps and headed straight for the back door area with Maya screaming at him the entire way.

"Screw you, Ambrose!" She yelled. "I want my jacket! Neville, make him put me down!"

She thumped on his back, smacking him and kicking her legs. Neville, thankfully, didn't say anything. The patrons were laughing, though.

He slapped her ass. "Stop it, or I'll drop you on your head, Mouse."

She froze. "Did you just spank me?"

He opened the door and walked through with her still over his shoulder. "Damn well believe I did."

They got to the back office and he put her down in a chair. "You're going to sit here, not say a word. Do you understand me."

She stood up, glared at him and proceeded to leave. "I have work to do, Ambrose. I was doing just fine until you showed up."

"Looked more like you were having a fun time."

"You're just jealous because Finn actually wants me." She whipped around and said that as she stood in the doorway.

"Right. Like he wants you. He's doing it to piss me off."

"And why are you getting pissed off? Huh? Answer me that. We're nothing to each other. I stole, I'm trying to pay it back. You're stopping me from doing that. I need a job, Dean. I don't want to go back to what I was."

They stared at each other. Seth stood behind Maya, glancing at her and then looking at him. Back to Maya, and repeat.

"What's going on?" Seth asked and Maya spun around to look at him.

"I want to do a job, but Dean here isn't letting me." She jabbed her thumb at him. "I'm going back out to help Neville serve. Talk to him about letting me pay you back."

She pushed by Seth, headed back out to the bar area.

"Really?" Seth asked as he crossed his arms.

"She doesn't…"

"She's doing just fine. You need to get your head out of your ass and let her work, man. Look, you need to just talk to her on how you feel."

"How I feel?"

"Yeah, you obviously have some feelings for her. She doesn't need to be led on and crushed. And you acting like Cave Assman, really put you down a notch on her list of favorites."

"I'm just looking out for her. She doesn't need to be…"

"Who are you to decide that?"

Dean growled. "Fine, I'll let her work. I don't care what she does."

"Really? Because one of the waitresses called in sick for the next couple of days and since she's still learning the ropes, I figured I would ask her to come in tomorrow and work with Bliss or something."

His hands clutched at his sides as he heard his friend. "No, not going to happen."

"You just said that you don't care what she does." Seth hid the smirk fairly well. "So, are you going to relinquish your hold on her or are you going to control her again? Do I need to step in as your boss and make you stop controlling her?"

"Whatever. I'm being paid to make sure she doesn't steal anything." He started to leave the room only to have Seth step in front of him. "What?"

"Let her decide if she's going to work Rollins' Rockers when the male clients come in. You're going to stand back, watch and make sure none of them grab for her. I'll see to it that she works part-time tonight, part-time tomorrow during the day and then have her come for part-time at night. Between part times, make sure to feed her."

"Fine."

"And you better leave Balor alone, he's the best looking guy we have here," Seth called as Dean left the room.

"Whatever."

He went back out to the floor and watched Maya picking up a group of women's glasses from them near the bar, to give back to Cesaro. She smiled and said something to the women, who all giggled. Obviously, they were talking about Finn. Luckily Finn had finished up his routine and was gone for the next act to do their dancing stuff.

Dean, for the most part, stood back next to the pillars watching Maya, never stopping to watch her work. She, Neville, the guy Ziggler and a few others obviously worked well together. She would help either man bring trays of drinks to tables, pick up empties and write down drink or food orders for appetizers they sold. Some of the women even gave her tips for secrets or something.

About four hours into her shift, Neville whispered something to her and pointed to Dean. He didn't miss the glare she sent his way as she handed Neville the serving tray she was holding.

Shoving the tips she made in Neville's hand, she started to walk away. Neville stopped her, said something and pressed the cash back into her hand and motioned with his head for her to leave.

"Ready?" She asked.

"What was that about?"

"I told Neville to give my tips to Seth. Neville said no, I made the money on my own and said I could keep it. Can we go now?" She asked.

"Fine." He pressed his hand on the middle of her back and started maneuvering her towards the front entrance.

She reached back, grabbed his wrist and pushed it away. "You're never allowed to touch me again," Maya said as she continued walking.

He knew he fucked up just by the tone of her voice.

* * *

**Hope you guys liked it. I'll be back in a little while with more. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Maya woke up around ten in the morning and for once she didn't dream of Jeremy. It didn't stop her from cleaning up Dean's leftover take out from the night before. Dean still slept on the couch.

Boxers and all, sprawled out with an arm over his face and snoring slightly. She looked down at him, his leather jacket, boots, and shirt hung over a nearby chair where he had discarded them as they got ready for bed. Picking up the takeout container on the coffee table, Maya headed for the kitchen trash.

At least with cleaning it meant that she could get lost in her thoughts. The one thing that came to mind was how peaceful Dean looked when he was asleep. He wasn't being the asshole like he had the night before when he caveman carried her off the stage.

Prepping coffee in the coffee maker, Maya began to look for something to cook, like pancakes and waffles again. At least then she could eat something again. Having lost the weight that she was, she started noticing that she had been slowly gaining weight the more often she ate, as long as it wasn't huge meals.

She had started hearing Dean move around, at which point he had left and gone to the master bedroom without much of a word. She had started the frying pan, assuming he would want pancakes while she got the waffle maker out.

Something hard and heavy landed on the counter after she had poured some batter in the skillet.

"What the hell is this?" Dean demanded.

She spied her photo album and she told him as such. "That's my photo album. Pictures of me and my fiance Jeremy. I'm sure you've already seen them. Why?"

"Why were you trying to hide this from me?" He pressed closer, him looming again.

She shook her head. "Why would I hide something personal from you? I don't know. When you first started going through my stuff I figured you would spite me and destroy it or something."

Maya watched the pancake, watching for the bubbles.

And then Dean did something that he had not done since they started sharing the same space. "What was he like? What sort of job did he do?"

It was the tone he used. No longer harsh like asphalt, but smooth like granite. Smooth and cool, calm. When she looked at Dean, he was flipping through pictures.

"After he had gotten out of the army, honorably discharged might I add, we worked for Jeremy's father. We went to work with his dad at the family's diner, on the west side of the city. It was like a 50s diner, like a Sonics or Hardees. I waitressed there and he did the cooking. But because of his military, he was able to afford that black Harley."

Using the spatula, she motioned to one of the pictures he was looking at. Dean had stopped at a page where she and Jeremy, who looked like a proper biker, sat atop the large old thing.

"When he wasn't deployed, he'd train at Irish Whip, and then again when he was a civilian. But he loved that bike as much as me."

She flipped the pancake. Then Maya got the waffle maker ready for her waffles. Dean flipped through a few of the pages of the photo album. Every once in a while he would glance at her and then hum as if seeing something he wasn't expecting. But then again, she had a normal life before becoming homeless.

"What happened?" Dean asked.

"We were having a night ride after a shift, we liked going to a nature walk outside of the city and it started to rain. And then someone hit us from behind." She got quiet and he dropped the subject by closing the album. He left it on the counter though.

Dean, being Dean, went into the other room and switched on the television, all while obviously started picking up his stuff.

As Maya came out with his three large pancakes on a plate, syrup and all, she stops at the coffee table and looks at him. He was sitting down, flipping through the various sports packages and then when he finally looks at her, she drew in a long breath.

"If I promise to not try to run away, which you know I won't, we can switch places. You can have your bed and I'll take the couch." She said as she put the plate down in front of him.

He didn't say anything. He couldn't, because there was a knock on the door. Growling, grumbling and being a bit of a monster about it, he dug his key out of his jeans pocket and opened the door.

"Morning," Roman said.

"Where in the hell were you last night?"

Maya figured it was better that she got back into the kitchen because of the look of Dean's face. Roman, still big and intimidating as the last time she had seen him, stood with arms crossed. His shirt seemed to be a little screwed up. He had a leather jacket in his hand, one that looked vaguely familiar.

"So?" Dean asked the other man.

"I had some issues, okay. My girl was…"

"I thought you broke up with her."

"Well, we're trying again."

Maya finished getting her waffles ready. Though she looked at the mostly filled dish of batter and started to turn to ask Roman a question, only to find Roman standing at the kitchen entryway.

"Jeez, wait until I'm not handling food." She pressed a hand to her chest before putting down the spatula. "Do you want pancakes, Mr. Reigns?" She asked.

"Roman," he corrected. "Sure, I could always go for food." He smiled at her. "How are you doing, Maya? I heard you had an exciting night last night."

"It started off great," she said as she poured some batter into the skillet. "I was actually having fun. And then he had to go ruin it for me." She jabbed her thumb over her shoulder, indicating to Dean.

"He didn't need to be rubbing you all over him." Dean bit back as apparently stabbed at his pancakes.

"Maybe I like that about a man." She countered his counter.

Really, what was with him? Was he really that jealous or something? She was content to think that, anyway.

"Hey, I'll let you in on a bit of a secret." Roman leaned next to the counter, keeping his voice low. "His wife was inappropriately groped when they went into Rollins' Rockers the first time. I had to pry him off the guy."

She flipped the pancake. "Really?"

"Look, I may be stepping over the boundary here, I have my own issues at the moment but I know, in Dean's own warped way, he likes you."

She took a deep breath. "Has he always been insane?"

"Only to those he cares about."

Maya shook her head and finished up with Roman's pancakes. By the time she was finished, her waffles were more or less cooled but she did make it up with plenty of butter and syrup. She stood at the table while both men occupied the couch and watched a replay of a baseball game she had seen before. Reds lost that one.

By the time they had all finished their late breakfast Roman announced that she was expected down in the casino, Rockers part.

"Then you'll be stepping in for a server girl in the club tonight. She called out sick. Seth alerted me this morning. He'll be waiting in the Casino." Roman said.

"What about you?" Dean asked as Maya grabbed their empty plates.

"Sleeping until tonight's shift." Roman then let out a large yawn. "I would suggest that you get some sleep between the split shifts today. Eat something and drink a lot of coffee. Seth went to meet up with his mom about something but he'll be around later."

"What should I be wearing for the Casino?" Maya asked.

"Black shorts, the black vest thing. Pull your hair back and make sure the top button is done up." Dean said.

So she did. After she left the kitchen with her photo album, she put it on the bed instead of under it and kissed the last picture of Jeremy again. What she went through the night before with him, she went into the bathroom with her clothes and locked the door behind her. Maya only took a few extra minutes to make sure that her hair was in the right place and then went about making sure she wasn't showing too much skin. Rockers Casino obviously had a different dress code than what she wore for the women's night at Rollins' Rockers.

By the time she and Dean had left, Roman was already gone to do his own thing. The trip was just another repeat of how they got to Rollins' Rockers, only it was just the two of them. While she hadn't really spent any time in the Casino itself, it looked a lot like all the other big name brand casinos on the Strip. Dean took her through the middle of it and saw someone that made her smile.

Sitting at one of the few dozen Blackjack tables, surrounded by some older women who looked like they were more suited at the Pelagio and a nursing home, was Finn Balor.

"Hello, Ladies. Finn, you seem to be popular." Maya said.

"Well, Mariah here is really beating my hand at the moment. Hit or pass, Ladies?" Finn asked the four older women in front of him.

"Hit me, young man." The oldest of the bunch said, swiping at the table with her cards in hand.

"She only wants him to spank her." Her friend said.

Dean looked either amused, grossed out or hit it well with a scowl. "Where's Vega, Balor?"

"Near the bar with her hubby." Finn smiled at Maya. "Good to see you're working again. I'll give you my jacket later, Maya."

Red hot face, she did smile back at him. The ladies snickered amongst themselves before Dean ushered her away.

"Can't wait to get my jacket." She said.

"Shut up."

Maya laughed at his bitterness.

* * *

Zelina Vega was a Latina woman who Dean had met on several occasions. She was a hard worker, a stern-looking school teacher type woman if someone pissed her off. But she smiled when Dean brought Maya up to the bar where they processed drinks and food orders.

"Zelina, this is Maya Gilbert, she's working part-time today. Think you can show her around?"

"Thank you, I've been wondering when we got another server girl for the card tables." She smiled at the man that approached, wearing a black shirt under a tattered blue denim vest and black jeans. "Hola, Mi Amor." She said and kissed the guy. "This is Maya Gilbert, Aleister. She's working with me. Maya, my husband Aleister Black."

Maya didn't blink but seemed to know not to offer her hand. "Hi, Mr. Black."

He didn't say anything. Like Paul Bunyan from the night before, he had a look about him that spoke "I will kill you if you try anything" yet he still nodded at her.

"I'm shadowing, making sure she doesn't get in trouble," Dean said, smirking at Maya when she spun around to look at him. He smiled at her just for good measure.

"Jerk," Maya grumbled.

"He can be, can't he? I've only worked with him when we had a stalker problem with one of the other serving girls." Zelina said. "Okay, come on. I'll show you have to work on the floor. And please, Dean, stay out of our way."

Aleister nodded his head to the side, his light eyes looking at Dean. Taking the hint, Dean stepped away as Zelina took Maya through the motions.

"Warning, Lesnar is coming here," Aleister said as he stood with arms crossed against one of the large white pillars in the hall.

"Yean? When?"

He shrugged. "I alerted Seth, though. That's why I'm here. And them."

A lot more Shield guards were posted around the area. Most dressed like Dean and Aleister, but there were a few dressed like businessmen, sitting at slots. The watches gave them away. Then there was the brown-haired woman, Bayley, who was dressed like Maya, serving tray and all talking to one of the fancier dressed suited men with the watch.

"Think he's coming to look for your girl?" Aleister asked.

"She's not my girl."

"That's not what Braun said."

Even if he wanted to rebuff the other guy, the front doors opened and in walked the man that had tried so hard to get someone to beat him up at the gym. With him, his walking Mouthpiece who waddled along next to him.

"Oh for fuck sake," Dean said as he turned his shoulder slightly.

He grabbed his phone and pulled up Seth's number. The guy picked up on the third ring.

"Rollins, we have a problem," Dean said, glancing at Black who had started off towards where Lesnar and his walking mouthpiece was.

"What's the problem?"

"Asshat and shit talker both are here."

"Who?"

Dean groaned. "Lesnar and his walking mouthpiece, the dude that talks for him, Heyman. They are here in the Casino."

"For fuck sakes."

No kidding, Dean thought as he turned to look at Zelina and Maya. They were walking in the other direction, Zelina holding a tray of drinks and talking to Maya. Maya didn't see what was going on towards the front of the casino.

Shawn Michaels was talking to Lesnar and Heyman. Leaning against one of the pillars in the main hall, still on the phone with Seth, Dean watched the two men. They were dressed as if they were doing press releases, not that Dean knew much about the UFC stuff that Lesnar was apart of. White undershirts, black overcoats, polished shoes, the works. They didn't really stand out in the upper echelons like the other clients that came to the casino, mostly to ogle at the women's asses.

Making sure that Lesnar didn't see him, but keeping a good line of sight on both him and Maya, Dean watched from the pillar. Other guys with watches were there, obviously having been called in by Seth.

"Don't think about showing up. We don't need them to know you run Rockers." Dean grumbled into the phone.

"Do you see Maya?"

"With Zelina at the moment. She's learning the ropes on a different side of the casino."

Dean watched as Lesnar and Heyman walked towards the Blackjack table where Finn had just cleared away from the older ladies who had left. He watched another server girl approach with complimentary drinks and an offer for appetizers.

"Beer." The man said, who then reached up and groped the woman's backside.

She sidestepped the touched, said she would be back and left, glancing at Aleister and Dean along the way. She was a single mother trying to give her autistic son a better chance at life after running into AJ Styles, who talked to Seth about a job at Rockers. She didn't need someone like Lesnar groping her ass.

He nodded at her, as a way of saying everything was okay. He would make sure that she was taken care of.

Codename Ricochet walked up. "Want me to tail her?"

The caramel skinned bald guy with a full sleeve tattoo was a recent hire but one that could give anyone a run for their money. Someone who Dean liked and respected thanks to his flippy dippy shit and MMA style that he and Black seemed to both have.

"Yeah, make sure everyone knows the rules about not groping the waitresses."

Ricochet nodded and left after Danica, the server.

Hanging up with Seth so that Dean could fully focus on Lesnar was hard to do. The guy seemed to get angry with Finn, who wasn't all smiles for once. The card counter in Finn knew not to count cards in his favor, so that Lesnar wouldn't have a mental breakdown. There was that one time Lesnar had been banned from another high roller casino for losing too much.

"There she is. Sweet ass." Lesnar said in a not so quiet tone as he leaned into Heyman.

A quick glance over his shoulder, Dean saw Maya approaching with a tray. Zelina was following and they were talking about something. Apparently, Danica asked Maya to take the beer to Lesnar, probably for fear of being groped again.

"Here's your beer, sir," Maya said in a sweet tone. "Hi, Finn."

"So, you two know each other?" Lesnar asked as she sat the beer down in front of him.

"Sure we do. He's my flavor right now." She smiled at Finn again.

"Flavor? What would you want with him? My client, Brock Lesnar, is a very capable man of his standards." Heyman said.

"I'm sure he is, but I like exotic things, foreign affairs if you will. Do you want anything, Mr. Heyman?" She looked at the bald man as she held the serving plate like a shield in front of her.

"No, I'm on the clock. Thanks anyway."

Instead of turning around and walking, Maya backed up, preventing Lesnar any chance of making a grab for her. Dean smiled at that. She had the smarts, knew what to do when it was important.

"I want your number," Lesnar called out, to which Maya turned to look over her shoulder at him.

"You'll have to take a number. I have two men wanting me, I don't think I can juggle a third. Besides, I don't think I can handle you. I barely have a grasp of the first one who's watching you like a hawk."

She left Lesnar looking around as if trying to figure out who she was talking about. He, of course, didn't see Dean watching from the safety of the pillar.

Dean called Seth back.

"Yeah, just want to let you know, Lesnar knows Maya works here."

It was going to get a lot worse for him if Lesnar went down to the bar later that night. Dean made sure to let Seth know this as he hung up and continued to shadow Lesnar for as long as Maya was still working with Zelina.

* * *

**I'm really busy this week and won't be able to update some of my stories because I'm helping my friend move at the moment. But I still want to keep up what I have going on. **


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